Pantisocracy by Athena Media

The Panti Personals S2 E 8 - Xona To close Season 2 of The Panti Personals we've a man that Panti Bliss can look up to, even while wearing high heels! It's 6 foot 7" Afro Irish soul singer and songwriter Xona - aka Jordan Onubogu. Xona was born in Lagos but calls Mullingar home, and has now made London his address. He tells the story of how he changed his name to his middle name Jordan, when he came as a ten year old to Ireland and started school. Then, he wanted to fit in and be the same as all the other children but today, as a confident Black Irish performing artist, he has returned to using his birth name. Xona shares with love the story of how his mother, a single mum, made sacrifices and worked hard to make a better life for her children in Ireland. He talks of the challenges too of being the gay kid in a church based Nigerian Irish community and both Panti Bliss and Xona swap their 'coming out' stories. Xona, accompanied by the gorgeous farmer/musician Colm Conlan, performs two of his songs live for the Queen - 'This Could Be Us' and 'Slow Dancing' both from his recent EP 'In My Head' and you hear the EP version of the title song during the show when he shares his story of writting the album during the pandemic. To find out more follow Xona on twitter https://twitter.com/xonatheartist Transcript: https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/f9605b61c5164697975696ef1ddb2165/edit_v2?share_code=3a8e06689ededc3f7ab8 The Panti Personals is an independent podcast produced by Athena Media, made by Helen Shaw and John Howard with additional research by Dara Shaw. Our theme music is Knots by Lisa Hannigan - used with her kind permission. To find all the shows, and see videos of the performances, go to www.pantisocracy.ie

The Panti Personals S2 E7 Edel Meade Edel Meade is a jazz singer turned contemporary folk artist, She hails from Clonmel but has made Limerick her home and her latest album 'Brigids and Patricias' tells the stories of what it is to be a woman in Ireland from myth to misogyny; with songs about the true, though still unbelievable story of Bridget Cleary, whose husband burnt her to death saying he believed she was a changeling, and a powerful spoken word piece called' Long Way to Go' about gender violence, which chimes with an Ireland which has just mourned Ashling Murphy. With the announcement that Feb 1, St Brigid's Day, will become a new Irish national holiday from 2023, Panti Bliss explores why Edel is so fascinated by Brigid and how she is a cross between the pre Christian Celtic Goddess Brigit and the Christian saint,much loved in Ireland, who is so associated with the arrival of Spring, the feminine and womanhood, and why the new national holiday chimes with the public debate around gender violence. 'It's going to become ireland's women's day' says Panti while Edel connects it to social justice, seeing it reaching beyond the male and female, towards aspirations of fairness, equality and justice. Edel tells Panti Bliss her family roots, in Co Tipperary, are in farming not song but her will to sing was shaped by a couple of incredible nuns in her schools who encouraged and gave her confidence. A career path to journalism brought her to Chicago but instead of radio she studied the blues and came back to take a degree in jazz music and spent a decade performing as a jazz artist. She is a vocal coach, now teaching people to sing, in the University of Limerick, and her lockdown was spent developing new strings to her bow; learning to play the tin whistle, sing sean nós and play Irish traditional music. She's a committed life long learner and her track in 2022 sees her finally touring with the album, and getting to the Smithsonian in the USA to research cross over between Appalachian music and Irish traditional music there. In the show Edel performs live two of her songs for the Queen, accompanying herself on the gorgeous grand piano. Hear her sing 'Song of the Seal' and 'Not For This World' Other songs included are some of her jazz numbers God Bless The Child Blue Moon SideWays ( from her jazz album Blue Fantastia) and Song for Bridget Cleary and Long Way to Go from the album ' Brigids and Patricias) You can find out more about Edel on www.edelmeade.com And you can see her perform in gigs at The Belltable, Limerick on 10th Feb & at Riverbank Arts Centre on 12th Feb. Transcript of the Show: https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/16768da75d5143be9703a8e7cd95827c/edit_v2?share_code=4e7d678f466f20e97e8c The Panti Personals is an independent podcast by Athena Media, produced by Helen Shaw, the digital editor is John Howard and our theme music is Knots by Lisa Hannigan, used with her very kind permission. You can find all the shows on www.pantisocracy.ie

The Panti Personals S2 E6 Zapho & Senita Appiakorang To mark the beginning of a new year of twos our Queen, Panti Bliss, is with a winning twosome, two boss women from the X Collective, co founder Zapho, aka Ele Breslin and her fellow singer and songwriter Senita Appiakorang. The X Collective is a coming together of new Irish music talent and ambition, founded by Beslin and her partner Emily Shaw, and is now a creative, collaborative network of about 100 artists, musicians, singers and writers across the country. Zapho and Senita came together with Toshín, Gemma Bradley and Chloe Agnew to release the song WB in April 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9YCgz5bJr4 and previous;y Zapho and a former Pantisocracy guest Tolu Makay recorded and released 'Collide' with Jenny Browne https://bit.ly/2X1cQmZ . Senita has also just brought out a new song with another Pantisocracy pal, Jess Kav, the powerful 'Ascension' featuring Toshín https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTzBNS-R0uk. In this episode Zapho and Senita share their stories and each perform a song for the Queen accompanied by their X Collective mate Louis Younge. Zapho sings 'Tell Your Mother' a new song she's written about coming out and it gets a release on Mother's Day this March. Senita shares a pulled back version of song she and Jess Kav will release shortly called 'Benefactor of Love' which is part of the Sister Fenix collaborative partnership she and Jess have created. You'll also hear some excerpts in the podcast of: Shookrah & God Knows - I'm Right Here (Samantha Mumba Cover) Shookrah - 'Notions' Zapho - 'Peoples' Find out more about the X Collective : https://www.oicheevents.com/thexcollective Find out more about Zapho https://www.zaphomusic.com/ And Senita on Twitter https://twitter.com/Appiseni Transcript https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/20c7a7e166af4a0ba6c7efef7f9e2a17/edit_v2?share_code=b1b31721385be5558bba The Panti Personals is an independent podcast produced by Athena Media, the series producer is Helen Shaw, the digital editor is John Howard with research by Dara Shaw. We record in Camden Recording Studios Dublin and our theme music is Knots by Lisa Hannigan, used with her kind permission and support. You can find all the episodes on www.pantisocracy.ie

The Panti Personals S2 E5: Niamh Regan For our final show of 2021 we've a warm hearted conversation with the acclaimed Galway singer-songwriter Niamh Regan, who shares stories of love and loss, grief and re-found happiness with the Queen confessor, Panti Bliss. Niamh comes from Kilrickle, a small village near Loughrea, and her debut album Hemet was nominated as best album in both the Irish Choice and the Irish Folk Awards. Hemet is named after the Californian homeplace of Niamh's husband Wesley Houdyshell, who is himself a musician and whose family are the fun force behind the band Hippie Cream. Nimah performs three of her songs for Panti Bliss live in Camden Recording Studios - Love You Senseless and Happy Again from her forthcoming EP 'In The Meantime' and the poignant 'Freeze Frame' from the Hemet album. To find out more about Niamh Regan and her music : http://www.niamhregan.com/ Other music you hear in the show includes: All the Things by Hippie Cream from the Album Trying to Turn a Unicorn Into a Horse Transcript: https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/4a18d9062659403d8e86ace7c0149512/edit_v2?share_code=71c83691400940ed0de0 The Panti Personals is an independent podcast by Athena Media. The series producer is Helen Shaw, the digital editor is John Howard. Additional research by Dara Shaw. Our theme music is Lisa Hannigan 'Knots' courtesy of Lisa Hannigan.

The Panti Personals - S2 E4 Nealo Panti Bliss in conversation with the hip hop artist Nealo ranges from dog love to Dublin, from leaving law to following his heart, and from becoming a Dad to why cannabis should be legal. Nealo performs three of his songs, with his good mates Rachel MacAuley and Adam Shanahan, live for the Queen, and shares how lockdown brought time to write, but also time to assess relationships and future. Nealo ( aka Neal Keating) hails from Clonsilla and began his music and stage career with the hard core punk band Frustration but after a sideways trip into law he found his heart and home in hip hop and mixes music with professional dog walking! In this conversation he shares some ups and downs, his joy at being a father and why he wrote a song for his mother, Rosemary. Music you hear in this episode includes: Nealo 'You Can't Go Home Again' ( live with Rachel and Adam) Nealo 'Under The Weather' ( live with Rachel and Adam) Nealo 'All The Leaves Are Falling' * from the album Frustration 'Last Will and Testament' * from previous recording Nealo 'Rosemary' ( live with Rachel and Adam) You can find out more about Nealo and his album 'All The Leaves Are falling' here: http://pantisocracy.ie/nealo/ Transcript of the episode : https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/ba975926343a43e98f85163775b16d2b/edit_v2 The Panti Personals is an independent podcast by Athena Media - the producer is Helen Shaw, the digital editor is John Howard and the studio is Camden Recording Studios. Our theme music is Lisa Hannigan's Knots- kindly provided by Lisa with permission to use on the podcast. You can watch videos of the show's performances on www.pantisocracy.ie and find us in all podcast places including youTube.

The Panti Personals S2 E 3 SIVE Panti Bliss is with alt-folk artist Sive in this episode of The Panti Personals. A proud Naas native Sive's voice and music is transformative, often called 'dream folk', and beyond her creative and artistic life she uses music and song as a community musician in choirs whose members include those with dementia and care home residents. During lockdown, while some of us were binging on Netflix, she co founded a social enterprise called Embrace Music, using music to make a positive difference in the world, and wrote a song cycle for the hospice movement 'Murmurations'. She's a climate warrior or worrier and says if you're not concerned about what's happening in the global environment you're not paying attention to the world. In this up close and personal conversation Sive shares three songs with Panti - one of her latest 'I Think Before I Speak' and one of her old ones 'If I Had A Home To Go To' as well as a beautiful ballad 'Tenlach' - an old Irish word for home and hearth. Other music you hear in this episode includes: Sive - 'We Are Moving' ( from her first album) Murmurations - 'Better Days to Come' Murmurations - 'Blackbird's Lament' Murmurations - 'The Dawning' (from The Irish Hospice project). as well as a clip from a recording with one of her community choirs. You can find out more about Sive and her music : https://www.sivemusic.com/about and you can support her on patreon where she shares a new demo every month - patreon.com/sivemusic. Sive has a gig in Clonacody House in Tipperary on 21st December with Mike Hanrahan and Emma Langford, and will be taking part in a First Fortnight event in the Riverbank Arts Centre in Kildare on the 15th Jan. Transcript of the episode :https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/e8603252b02f444e9fde29a5c5630c42/edit_v2?share_code=87cfc10b3d45687c12ac The Panti Personals is an independent podcast by Athena Media, produced by Helen Shaw and mixed by John Howard. We record in Camden Recording Studios in Dublin. Find out more and see the videos from the show on www.pantisocracy.ie

The Panti Personals - S2 E2 - Ye Vagabonds Panti Bliss is with Brían and Diarmuid Mac Glionn, otherwise known as Ye Vagabonds, the multi-award winning harmonising brothers who hail from Co Carlow but whose music, songs and story are dipped in the waters of their mother's homeland, Arranmore Island in Co Donegal. Ye Vagabonds picked up best band at this year's RTÉ Irish Folk Awards as well as best folk track for their version of 'I'm A Rover' and with Panti Bliss they share the roots of their music and how the Cobblestone Pub in Smithfield, (which is now under threat), played such a part in their evolution as performers. For Panti they perform 'I'm A Rover' live and in hilarious detail tell the adventures of their All Boats Rise, slow tour, along the canalways with Myles O'Reilly, and perform one of the songs from that tour 'The Pride of The Barrow'. As they head into the mix for their third album they talk about 'blood harmonies' that unspoken sound language of siblings who sing together and gives us a unique insight into how they work together with the performance of a new song, written together. To find out more about Ye Vagabonds and their music : http://yevagabonds.com Audio archive recordings of Brían & Diarmuid's grandfather, Barney Beag Gallagher and their great grandmother,Biddy Néilí Gallagher, is with the kind permission of the Irish Traditional Music Archive www.itma.ie and Lisa Shields and comes from the audio recordings and collection of Lisa and Hugh Shields recorded on Arranmore Island in the 1970s. Find out more through Brían own podcast and transmedia blog on ITMA's Drawing from the Well online project www.itma.ie/drawingfromthewell/brian-mac-gloinn The clip of Andrew Early singing 'No One To Welcome Me Home' - a song learnt when he was 15 years old from Róise Rua was recorded by Brían's friend Steve O'Connor on the island in 2019. Early has since died and this song is included in Brían's Arranmore songs project and it is now one Ye Vagabonds sing themselves. Have a look at this gorgeous little video around the Róise Rua Festival now held on the island : http://feileroiserua.com/ ( you'll spot Myles and Ye Vagabonds!) Other clips of songs referenced and sound clips you hear in the programme include: Ye Vagabonds - I Courted A Wee Girl - from Myles O'Reilly's film of 'Seven Songs on Six Islands' tour. ( see the full video film here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bLUsLBuKQs) Ye Vagabonds - Blackbirds & Thrushes/ Hares on the Mountain - actuality performance - full video performance on Ye Vagabonds Patreon https://www.patreon.com/yevagabonds Ye Vagabonds - Willie O Winsbury ( released on 'The Hare's Lament' album Rough Trade Records 2019) Buy the music here: https://store.roughtraderecords.com/products/ye-vagabonds-the-hares-lament And you can see the guys live on National Concert Hall Stage Nov 28th - still a few tickets for sale - https://www.nch.ie/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=Ye-Vagabonds-28Nov21&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id= The Panti Personals is an independent podcast by Athena Media, produced by Helen Shaw. John Howard is the digital and audio editor. The show is recorded in Camden Recording Studios with the kind support of Cian Boylan and the sound engineer is Conor Brady. To find out more go to www.pantisocracy.ie And watch the video performances from the show on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzKjJlsQJm9mA4ThiaGj88A

The Panti Personals S2 E1 - Dani Larkin 'For me music is medicine' says Dani Larkin. The Panti Personals podcast is back and in this first episode of a new season Panti Bliss is talking with folk singer-songwriter Dani Larkin, who comes from the tiny townland of Madden in the border county of Armagh. Dani shares her Gemini fascination with duality, and how being queer, and coming from a conflicted borderland, has shaped her. She's worked in conflict resolution, using music, across the world, including a period spent working in Israel and Palestine which she says has left a lifelong mark. Her new album 'Notes for a Maiden Warrior' draws on Irish mythology and feminine energy and she performs two of her songs for Panti during the show 'Samson & Goliath' and 'Bloodthirsty', and the episode features excerpts of her songs 'The Red Maca's Return' and 'The Magpie'. You can find out more about Dani and her music here: https://www.danilarkin.com/ Transcript : https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/24690915155c417d93fb3a2639c2c35e/edit_v2 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzKjJlsQJm9mA4ThiaGj88A The Panti Personals is an independent podcast by Athena Media, produced by Helen Shaw, audio edit and videos by John Howard. See www.pantisocracy.ie for videos of the show.

The Panti Personals S1 E8 Jerry Fish #ThePantiPersonals www.pantisocracy.ie Panti Bliss is with the definitive showman Jerry Fish for this episode of The Panti Personals. To some he's best known as the frontman and driving force of the hit 1990s band 'An Emotional Fish' to others he's the creative magic behind 'The Jerry Fish Electric Sideshow' at the Electric Picnic Festival (remember festivals?!). Born in Dublin, he was raised and shaped by London's South End, where the streets were, he says, tough and he was surrounded by a multi-cultural migrant community. from Ireland, the Carribbean and Asia. He came back to Dublin in his mid teens, expecting to find 'home' but found Dublin treated him as an outsider so he took to wandering, and travelling, including a stint living on a rock in the Greek isles. Back in Dublin 'An Emotional Fish' came together, and a helter-skelter five years of riding the rock n' roll wave of touring with bands like U2 followed. These days the wanderer has settled down, living the country life with his lovely wife Nikki, their four children, and one spectacular moustache! The band he brought together when he returned to music is 'Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club' and Jerry performs two of his own songs, with the accompaniment of Cian Boylan, for Panti Bliss, in the show. This episode was recorded BEFORE this year's Electric Picnic Festival was denied permission and it was still a prospect of joyful hope for Panti and Jerry. Music you hear in this episode includes: 'Where The Sun Don't Shine' - Jerry Fish (Live with Cian Boylan) 'True Love Will Find You in the End' - Jerry Fish (Live cover of Daniel Johnston's song) 'Julian' - An Emotional Fish 'Celebrate' - An Emotional Fish 'Be Yourself' - Jerry Fish & The Mudbug Club If God Was A Girl - An Emotional Fish My Friend Jim - An Emotional Fish Transcript: https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/e7c1d6f67061423a8115b1afb1c763d1/edit_v2?share_code=dc4fb74d3e06154a981d The Panti Personals is an Athena Media independent production. The producer is Helen Shaw, the digital editor is John Howard and the theme music is Knots by Lisa Hannigan used with her kind permission. The Panti Personals Season 1 is recorded in Camden Recording Studios Dublin with the kind support of Cian Boylan and Conor Brady. ** This is the finale of the debut series of The Panti Personals - we've a host of podcasts available under Pantisocracy or The Panti Personals and we'll be back in the Autumn with more.

The Panti Personals S1 E7 Elaine Mai For maybe the first time in our Pantisocracy world Panti Bliss gets to chin wag with a fellow county woman, electronic composer, singer and musician Elaine Mai. Elaine grew up in rural Mayo on a farm until she was eleven and moved to town. She came out in college at University College Galway and met her future wife Roisin there, as well as starting to explore her musical journey which eventually led her to electronic music. In those days there were few women leading in that genre and she had no role model, now in her mid 30s she is not just a role model herself, composing, producing and recording her own work, but also leading in creating a more gender equal environment for women in the music industry. She is one of the Irish artists representing Ireland in the EU gender equality in music initiative KeyChange. In this episode she performs her track 'Still Feel' from her forthcoming album with the uber talented singer and collaborator Ailbhe Reddy. You can find out more about Elaine and her work here: https://www.elainemai.com/ Transcript of the episode : https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/e28d2400554b41869734a64e9c3a679f/edit_v2?share_code=85e2e5f429efd8a1b525 Music and performances you hear in this episode includes: Elaine Mai - IOU Elaine Mai - No Forever (feat. MayKay) Elaine Mai - Somewhere Else Elaine Mai - Softly Elaine Mai - Still Feel (feat. Ailbhe Reddy) Ailbhe Reddy - Personal History Vickey Curtis - Two Fat Ducks Pillow Queens - Gay Girls Pillow Queens - Gay Girls (Elaine Mai Remix) The Panti Personals is an independent podcast production by Athena Media, the producer is Helen Shaw, the digital editor is John Howard. The theme music is Knots by Lisa Hannigan used with her kind permission. visit www.pantisocracy.ie for more and to see the videos of Elaine and Ailbhe's performance of 'Still Feel'.

The Panti Personals S1 E6 Bronagh Gallagher #ThePantiPersonals www.pantisocracy.ie The original Derry Girl Bronagh Gallagher, is the guest with Panti Bliss is this episode of The Panti Personals. Bronagh, an old friend of Panti's, began her film acting and singing career on a high as Bernie in Alan Parker's classic, The Commitments when she was just 17 Her film appearances include Star Wars, Pulp Fiction and Albert Nobbs and she is currently filming the TV Brassic in Manchester. Bronagh's work life splits between acting and singing and during the pandemic she collaborated with Dave Stewart on the track 'Truth or Dare' and with Noel Hogan on the song 'Cry Baby'. In this conversation Bronagh shares her lockdown secrets, including daily yoga and meditation, and how she headed back to Derry for lockdown 1 and stayed close to her parents. With Cian Boylan on piano she performs two of her own songs for Panti, 'Greatest Love' and 'So the Story Goes' and talks of how music remains the great love of her life. You can find out more about Bronagh and her work here: https://www.bronaghgallagher.com/ Music Bronagh performs in this episode : 'Greatest Love' 'So The Story Goes' and we hear from her recordings of 'Cry Baby' and "Truth or Dare'. Transcript of Episode https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/c12bdd7a49b74a62b3071a674fb87134/edit_v2?share_code=18c7fd0dd66c803d7e1b The Panti Personals is an Athena Media independent podcast production, the producer is Helen Shaw and the audio and digital editor is John Howard. The shows are recorded in Camden Recording Studios with Conor Brady and our themem music is Knots by Lisa Hannigan and it is used with her kind permission. For more go to www.pantisocracy.ie and see the videos of the performances from the shows.

The Panti Personals S1 E5: Adrian Crowley www.pantisocracy.ie #ThePantiPersonals Adrian Crowley, the man whose voice Panti Bliss describes as 'the deepest, darkest pint of Guinness pre smoking ban' is the guest in this episode of The Panti Personals. Adrian is an acclaimed singer, songwriter, and composer whose ninth album 'The Watchful Eye of the Stars' is just out. Adrian was born in Malta, his mother is Maltese and his father is from Galway, and after a few early years in Cameroon, he grew up in Barna, Co. Galway. These days he lives in Dublin with his French born wife and their two children, Max and Alice. In this intriguing, conversation with Panti, Adrian shares the story behind the documentary art film he made with director Niall McCann 'The Science of Ghosts', the influences behind his music, and how in Malta he feels the vibrations, the connection of his ancestors. Adrian performs 'Bread and Wine' from his new album for Panti and shares a remarkable spoken word piece he wrote during lockdown called 'The Ascension of Larks' which was first performed in Musictown earlier this year. Music you hear in this episode includes: Northbound Stowaway - Adrian Crowley A Shut In's Lament - Adrian Crowley The Ascension of Larks - Instrumental with spoken word piece - Adrian Crowley Crow Song - Adrian Crowley Season of The Sparks - Adrian Crowley ( Choice Music Album of the Year 2009) Bread and Wine - Adrian Crowley Little Breath - Radie Peat duet with Adrian Crowley ( performance from The Science of Ghosts) D Block Europe x Gunna Type Beat - Max Crowley re-mix on Adrian Crowley riff) Episode begins and ends with Northbound Stowaway. You can rent the film 'The Science of Ghosts' here : https://www.ifihome.ie/film/the-science-of-ghosts/ You can see Adrian's beautiful video for 'A Shut In's Lament' here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6nyunsijjY And you can find out more about Adrian and his work here: https://www.adriancrowley.com/ Transcript of the episode https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/dfce8ae9d9b3449faa6458aefc5eea7f/edit_v2?share_code=c10202ab1b3d1914911d The Panti Personals podcast is an independent production by Athena Media. The producer is Helen Shaw, the digital editor is John Howard and the theme music is Lisa Hannigan 'Knots' - used with her kind permission.

The Panti Personals: Jane Willow www.pantisocracy.ie #ThePantiPersonals Panti Bliss is with a gorgeous young Dutch woman, singer and songwriter Jane Willow in this episode of The Panti Personals. But of course Jane's real name is Janneke van Nijnanten and much like our Queen, Panti Bliss and her homeboy Rory O'Neill, she loves the freedom a stage persona and name gives to her. There's a weird Glen Hansard theme going on in The Panti Personals as we heard how Galia Arad was inspired to come to Ireland by a Glen gig, and our Janneke took off to Dublin after hearing Glen talking about the glories of street busking as a musician in Dublin. Janneke went back to busking, more parks than streets, during lockdown, just to find an audience and have the joy of the singing in public again. In this episode she shares her story of coming here from her home town in the Netherlands, Breda which of course Panti thinks is a great name for a drag queen, Heavy Breda! During the show Janneke pops into her Jane Willow identity and performs twice for the Queen, a beautiful cover of Nick Cave's 'Into My Arms' and her own lovely song 'Let There Be Light', a suitable anthem for the times we're in. In this episode you also hear Jane singing her poignant cover of Leonard Cohen song, Chelsea Hotel. Here's her lockdown video of it : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRESTppQB4M The Panti Personals gets closer to being a 'personals' column with Panti putting the call out for a gorgeous ginger haired guy for Jane ( she has a thing for red-heads!). Find out more about Jane Willow here : https://www.janewillow.com/blog Transcript of the episode: https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/7447b1ec0d554ce08360d18cb50c7532/edit_v2?share_code=5b049bfd4bae1e562d56 The Panti Personals is an independent podcast production by Athena Media. The producer is Helen Shaw, the digital editor is John Howard, the theme music is by Lisa Hannigan, it's an instrumental version of her song 'Knots' used with her kind permission. The shows are recorded in Camden Recording Studios with Conor Brady as audio engineer and we thanks Camden Recording Studios and Cian Boylan for their support in the making of this series.

The Panti Personals : Myles O'Reilly www.pantisocracy.ie #ThePantiPersonals The guest with Panti Bliss in this episode of The Panti Personals is Myles O'Reilly, a multi-talented artist of words, film and music. Myles composes and releases his own beautiful ambient music under the moniker Indistinct Chatter. He is celebrated for his gorgeous music docu-videos with artists like Villagers, Imelda May, Lisa O’Neill, Ye Vagabonds and of course the lovely Lisa Hannigan - whose music is our theme song. He’s one half of the music show ‘This Ain't No Disco’ with Donal Dineen and has curated a stage at Body & Soul Festival for some seven years. Myles began his stage and music life as the band Juno Falls, which was effectively just him, and in this conversation with Panti Bliss he invites his good friend Rónán O' Snodaigh in to perform and sing Rónán's 'Tá'n t'Ádh Liom (Lucky Is Me)'. You can see Myles film of this song here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RknDQJtJkOs You can find out more about Myles and his work on https://arbutusyarns.net/about/ and support it via his Patreon. https://mylesoreilly.bandcamp.com/music to buy his music. Music you hear in this episode includes: Crowded House - To The Island (Myles O'Reilly video can be seen here https://arbutusyarns.net/2021/03/20/crowded-house-to-the-island/ Emmi Leisner DANK SEI DIR,HERR Ernst Reijseger Indistinct Chatter - My Mother's Star Indistinct Chatter - The Conservatory Indistinct Chatter - Your Excitement Episode Transcript: https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/d2af713b626447a3811708785d6e313e/edit_v2 The Panti Personals is an independent podcast produced by Athena Media. The producer is Helen Shaw, the digital editor is John Howard and the theme music is by Lisa Hannigan, an instrumental version of her song 'Knots' (Myles made the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYdPtcx-4mo) and it is used with her kind permission.

The Panti Personals : S1 E2 Panti Bliss meets Galia Arad. (released May 14) Galia Arad describes herself as 'Bob Dylan meets Britney Spears' and if that doesn't make you want to listen to this episode of The Panti Personals, whatever will? Galia hails from Bloomington, Indiana, but this singer-songwriter with a comic punch, has made Dublin her home. When she's asked by taxi drivers what fella brought her to Dublin? Galia smiles and says 'Glen Hansard' but in truth it's as much Shane McGowan's work, as Glen's. But then you'll have to listen to the podcast to find out why! Galia's comic work is often with the gleeful Lollipops but her new release, 'Lion's Den' is a classic break-up song, a powerful pop ballad you can just imagine Britney covering. Galia's 'Britney crush' often means she includes a Britney cover in her gigs and her very dark and mysterious cover of 'Baby One More Time' made it to screen in a Marvel TV series 'Cloak & Dagger'. In this episode of The Panti Personals Panti Bliss finds a new soulmate in fellow podcaster Galia Arad, who she decides is 'a gas bitch' and ideal company for the habitual lockdown season. Galia, who has toured with Jools Holland, performs her latest release 'Lion's Den' and a song inspired by possibly her most embarrassing moment, when Elvis Costello emailed her to hook up for a gig. Music in this episode includes: Galia & The Lollipops : What a Time Galia's cover of Brittney Spears 'Baby One More Time' Galia Arad's Lion's Den - accompanied by Cian Boylan Galia Arad and the Elvis Costello Song To find out more about Galia go to www.galiaarad.com And follow her on twitter https://twitter.com/galiaarad The Panti Personals is an independent podcast production by Athena Media. The producer is Helen Shaw, the digital editor is John Howard. The theme music is Knots by Lisa Hannigan and used with her kind permission.

The Panti Personals - Season 1 Episode 1 Panti Bliss meets Bressie' Niall Breslin (released May 1 2021) *trigger warning. This conversation touches on mental health, and references child abuse and suicide. Panti Bliss is breaking out of lockdown and shaping a new podcast, a child of Pantisocracy, The Panti Personals, where she gets up close (two metres anyway) and personal with someone, for an intimate conversation and a private performance. Her first guest is a man of more hats than Philip Treacy. It's the handsome beast, mindfulness and music man, Niall Breslin, 'Bressie' of the Blizzards. This time Niall is Blizzardsless and performs two of his new spoken words pieces, 'Teen Spirit', which was first performed for this year's St Patrick's Day Festival, and inspired by the death of his teenage hero Kurt Cobain, and a brand new piece 'Closing Time', a tribute to the saving grace of Tom Waits, with Cian Boylan on piano. Niall is co-founder of the mental health advocacy group 'A Lust for Life' and he hosts two podcasts, 'Where Is My Mind?' and one focussed on mindfulness 'Wake Up/Wind Down'. In this powerful and revealing conversation Panti and Bressie talk love, life, anxiety and resilience, and swap stories on how physical and sexual abuse, witnessed during their school years, has stayed with them, and haunted them. Find out more about Niall and his work : https://www.niallbreslin.com/ Or 'A Lust for Life': https://www.alustforlife.com/tools/mental-health/where-is-my-mind-podcast And to hear the Blizzards check out : https://open.spotify.com/artist/5wzUAvSTqE7BXNSL0OOzZR The Panti Personals is an Athena Media independent podcast production. The producer is Helen Shaw and the digital editor is John Howard. The Panti Personals sessions are recorded in Camden Recording Studios Dublin and this first season of the show has been made with the kind support of Camden Recording Studios and Cian Boylan. For more, and to see videos of performances from The Panti Personals, visit the mothership http://pantisocracy.ie/panti-personals/ Episode Transcript: https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/f970aaabdeea4310b0bf0f11e69af05e/edit_v2 All rights rest with Niall Breslin & Athena Media @AthenaMedia2021

The Panti Personals - a new podcast hosted by Panti Bliss, starts May 1 2021. Panti Bliss is breaking out of lockdown and getting up close ( well two metres) and personal. In this new podcast, a child of the multi-award winning Pantisocracy, Panti Bliss is escaping her husband, Penny the dog and Crayon the lockdown cat, to have some intimate and revealing conversations with old and new friends who also, since, they're all performers, entertain her in a private audience of one. In this season she meets the handsome beast, mindfulness and music man, Niall Breslin, ala Bressie of the Blizzards, American singer and songwriter, Galia Arad, film-maker and musician Myles O'Reilly, the unstoppable Bronagh Gallagher, and the Dutch singer and songwriter Jane Willow. For more go to the mothership http://pantisocracy.ie/panti-personals/ The Panti Personals is an independent podcast production by Athena Media. The producer is Helen Shaw and the digital editor is John Howard. This first season of The Panti Personals is made with the support of Camden Recording Studios in Dublin. The theme music for The Panti Personals is Knots by Lisa Hannigan, and used with her kind permission. Thanks Lisa!

In The Panti Monologue Panti Bliss shares her up and down experience of lockdown 1 and 2 in Ireland during 2020 and how a new 'spirit animal' called Crayon got her up, and out of bed, when she hit a pandemic slump. At the close of a year that has turned our lives upside down Panti Bliss hosts a special edition of Pantisocracy exploring what gives us solace and comfort and what inspires us to find the light, even in darkness. On Christmas Eve, by the fireside of a Joycean living room, she brings together a gathering of conversation and song. With her, at the James Joyce Centre in Dublin’s inner city, are singer and songwriter Maija Sofia, actor Aaron Monaghan, traditional singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh and her husband folklorist Billy Mag Fhloinn. http://pantisocracy.ie/s5e8/ for more Read the monologue: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nnuz6scTWcD2yo-udVIeZ7Phzi3YqidXJOdEaVRNazE/edit?usp=sharing

#Pantisocracy Season 5 Episode 7 ‘Skin Deep’ Panti Bliss talks about the power of empathy, of walking in another's steps, and being in their skin, in her final Panti Monologue in Season 5 of #Pantisocracy. This episode explores themes raises by the Black Lives Matter movement and how it relates to Ireland and racism. What does it mean to ‘look’ and be Irish in contemporary Ireland? In this episode of Pantisocracy with Panti Bliss, the last in this season, Panti is joined by people who challenge the stereotypical Irish freckles and fair skin and talk of an Ireland where it’s cool to be Irish and proud, regardless of your skin colour. Panti’s guests are singer and songwriter Dana Masters, who hails from South Carolina, USA, and moved to the north of Ireland ten years ago, Leon Diop one of the founders of the virally popular Black and Irish Instagram & Facebook account, and documentary maker Lisa Essuman. Dana, who tours with Van Morrison, performs two of her own songs during the show – ‘Little Girl’ inspired by her grandmother who was a black civil rights activist in the Deep South, USA, in the 1960s, and a song ‘Call You Home’ that she penned for her new home – Ireland – where she says she has found peace and healing. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qv1MFsq8xsnW0Hk0PvvuviNKtBgAsTYG5GLFw3bPhNA/edit?usp=sharing Read the Monologue Transcript pantisocracy.ie/s5-e7/ for more on the episode https://www.facebook.com/danamastersmusic/ https://www.instagram.com/black_andirish/

#Pantisocracy S5 E6 ‘A Place to Call My Own’ In the Panti Monologue Panti Bliss talks of making Dublin her home and how that shift in finding a place that both accepts you and you accept is so fundamental to the human experience. What does it take to call a place your own, or for that place to let you own it? In this episode of Pantisocracy 'A Place to Call My Own' host Panti Bliss is with three people who answered that question. She meets Santis O’Garro, a proud Black Irishwoman from the Caribbean island of Montserrat, Martin Beanz Warde, a comedian who shares his story of growing up gay in the traveller community in the west of Ireland, and singer Roisin El Cherif, a Palestinian Irishwoman from Oranmore, Co Galway. pantisocracy.ie/s5-e6/ for more Read the monologue: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17VqAiAZK7-bpJgbN0unYuMPtWY0_kFn2ieaI-cZAYYA/edit?usp=sharing Pantisocracy with Panti Bliss is an Athena Media production The producer is Helen Shaw, the digital editor is John Howard and the audio mix on this episode was done by Simon Cullen.

The Panti Monologue 'Inner Vision' is all about being driven by a sense of passion and creativity. Panti Bliss shares her own sense of self and creativity. On air RTE Radio 1 August 20th and on podcasts everywhere. Check out the short form podcast series The Panti Monologues and follow the long form Pantisocracy episodes on air or in podcasts everywhere. for more pantisocracy.ie Pantisocracy is an Athena Media production for RTE Radio 1 - the producer is Helen Shaw, the digital editor is John Howard and this episode was recorded in Camden Recording Studios in Dublin. Read the monologue: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rYg5ZgdBg0OmheKNbJfVtDXdqcLNKIoF0iMmzDnzw40/edit?usp=sharing http://pantisocracy.ie/s5-e5/ for more In this episode Panti Bliss is joined by guests Naoise Dolan, whose debut novel 'Exciting Times' is creating quite a stir, by Louise Lowe, artistic director of ANU Productions, and David Geraghty, aka Join Me In the Pines, musician and singer.

#Pantisocracy S5 E4 - 'Phoenix Rising' with an incredible panel of parlour guests for Panti Bliss - with Louise Bruton, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Una Keane, Noah Halpin and Melina Malone all talking about moments of change and transformation in their lives. In the Panti Monologue, Panti's spoken word piece that opens the show, Panti shares her sense of transformation and how Panti channels her Alexis Carrington Colby! This episode explores both physical and metaphysical transformation. What does it take to become the person you are born to be? In this episode of Pantisocracy host Panti Bliss meets five people who share their stories of becoming at home in their own skin. Joining Panti are Louise Bruton, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Úna Keane, Noah Halpin and Melina Malone who all share moments of intense change and transformation in their lives. http://pantisocracy.ie/pantisocracy-s5-e4-phoenix-rising/ for more Watch the monologue here : https://vimeo.com/432460043 Read the monologue https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tdgs3ebqJFysw2ToUto7QC9nLT2W9Bmg/view?usp=sharing

#Pantisocracy Season 5 Episode 3 ‘When Things Fall Apart’ Panti Bliss shares her experience of 'When Things Fall Apart" or as she calls it 'Shit Happens' and gives some advice to a good friend who is struggling post lockdown. We can't control what happens, but we can control how we react to what happens. The Panti Monologues is a short form podcast taken from the spoken word performances by Panti Bliss at the opening of the Pantisocracy shows. In this episode, episode 3 of Season 5, Panti meets three people who found a way of re-inventing or re-discovering themselves and their work during lockdown. 'When Things Fall Apart' - find the full podcast episodes under Pantisocracy in all podcast places. Recorded in Belvedere House, Dublin 1 July 2020. "What do you do when everything falls apart, and your best laid plans collapse in the eye of a global storm? In this episode of Pantisocracy host Panti Bliss is with three people, photographer Ruth Medjber, novelist Gavin McCrea and singer/songwriter Emma Langford, who each had to answer that question and reinvent their work and world during the pandemic. For Ruth Medjber, 2020 was meant to be a globe trotting series of music tours, festivals and exhibitions, but forced into lockdown, she began capturing the mood of the nation with her twilight walks and window portraits. Gavin McCrea, was happily working away on a novel, when lockdown brought him back to Dublin to look after his elderly mother, and in the midst of quarantine, Gavin began writing a very personal memoir, capturing that time, and his mother’s dementia. Emma Langford, as her overseas tour and gigs vanished, began video blogging from her bedroom, hosting sing songs and requests and found a new way of creating and connecting. During the show, Emma performs two of her songs, ‘The Winding Way Down to Kells Bay’ and ‘Goodbye Hawaii’ while Gavin shares the opening prologue of his powerful new work. For more go to pantisocracy.ie/s5e3/ Read the monologue here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14O2GNlxkK2hJ7Cm4nOicuwruuJWxWHD4jcGQzLqolpg/edit?usp=sharing Watch Panti deliver her monologue: vimeo.com/435820284 Pantisocracy and The Panti Monologues are Athena Media Productions. The radio broadcast of the shows goes on RTE Radio 1 while full length podcast cuts are available via www.pantisocracy.ie The producer is Helen Shaw, the digital editor is John Howard, the audio recordist and audio editor on this episode is Simon Cullen.

What happens when your private family story, your deepest secret, is also a national secret of shame and silence? Caelainn Hogan, author of the ground-breaking ‘Republic of Shame’ is the guest of Panti Bliss in this episode and she’s joined by singer Jess Kavanagh, whose mum was born, black Irish, in a mother and baby home, and film-maker Paul Duane, who was himself born in Sean Ross Abbey, the home depicted in the film ‘Philomena’. Jess shares a poem she wrote, as a schoolgirl, about High Park, the Magdalene laundry in northside Dublin, and performs Hozier’s song ‘Nina Cried Power’. http://pantisocracy.ie/s5e2/ for more Read The Monologue: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UHBk48JCnRRZLeXK5TnpwDV5XGtuNY2t/view?usp=sharing

Pantisocracy S5 E 1 - 'The Big Pause' Panti Bliss shares her own experience of lockdown in her return to Pantisocracy and a new Panti Monologue 'The Big Pause'. You can read the monologue here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LrD35fQWiOjBxPYeTy1K-Djgp3QPxZjgY7KOzRtVXec/edit?usp=sharing Watch it on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/432468788 ____________ For her first show back host Panti Bliss is talking to three people whose dream projects were launched into the world during a global pandemic and lockdown. Panti meets singer/actor Lisa Lambe who talks about a sense of grieving when all her plans for her album 'Juniper', the result of two years work, were derailed. With Lisa is award winning author Mark O'Connell whose prophetic work 'Notes on an Apocalyse' was published in lockdown and his doomsday vision became a reality. Joining Lisa and Mark is Indian Irish writer Cauvery Madhavan whose new novel 'The Tainted', traces an love story set in 1920s India during the mutiny of Irish soldiers serving with the British Army who rebelled when they heard of Black and Tan atrocities happening at home. For more go to pantisocracy.ie/s5e1 and do check out the videos of the episode and Lisa's performances.

Today just about everything in our daily lives, from banking to dating, from getting a pizza to watching porn, has shifted online, and often happens in our always on smart phone. So how is it changing us? In this episode of Pantisocracy Panti Bliss is joined by the American-Syrian podcaster/philosopher Conner Habib, who gave up academia to become a gay porn actor, but who has now moved to Ireland to complete a PhD on things like fairy lore and ghosts. With them in the parlour is Dubliner Caroline West who has just finished her doctorate on sex, sexuality and porn and the award winner Galway based writer Lisa McInerney. Lisa’s final chapter in her gritty, dark trilogy of novels, that started with ‘The Glorious Heresies’, is out next year. Making music with the conversation is singer-songwriter Leanne Harte, who now works in digital media. Leanne shares her story of coming out gay. Adding to the blissful and sexy gaiety of the house is Cian Kinsella, one half of the acrobatic comedy duo Lords of Strut who performs with Panti Bliss in the stage show RIOT. pantisocracy.ie/s4-e8/ for more

A conversation of sisterhood and three generations of feminism In this episode of Pantisocracy with host Panti Bliss. Panti is joined by the acclaimed Galway poet Elaine Feeney, who is now working with the oral history project around the Tuam Babies story. With them in the parlour are two outstanding performers, Emma Garnett aka Fehdah, an afro-Irish singer who mixes her passion for music with astro-physics, and Nina Hynes, a Dubliner living in Berlin for over a decade now, who mixes her own music-making with teaching children to find joy in making sounds themselves. Completing our quartet is writer and first wave Irish feminist Rosita Sweetman who challenged Ireland in the early seventies with her book about women, sexuality and the Catholic Church called ‘On Our Knees’ and who now combines her commitment to women’s rights with activism on the environment. pantisocracy.ie/s4-e7/ for more

In this episode of the ‘cabaret of conversations’ host Panti Bliss is joined by artists who have found freedom in their art and work and those who have a sense of understanding Maya Angelou’s meaning ‘I Know why the caged bird sings’. Meet visual artist Mary Duffy who is a thalidomide survivor and paints, and gardens, with her feet. Her work is beautiful, evocative and life-affirming, capturing the colours and the coastal landscape of where she lives. With her in studio is Steo Wall a man who has known the confines of a cage and has found his voice through music and song. They are joined by Afro-Irish singer and musician Caleb Kunle and traveller/minceiri activist, advocate and academic Dr Sindy Joyce. http://pantisocracy.ie/s4-e6/ for more

What is belonging and when do we feel it? In this episode of Pantisocracy Panti Bliss is talking nationality and identity. Is it nature or nurture, DNA or destiny? Guests with the Queen of Ireland are Erin Fornoff, an American in Dublin, Irish by choice, who has crafted her gift for razor sharp, spoken word here and the singer songwriter Declan O’Rourke who reaches into both national and family history to tell song stories drawn from the famine and migration. Joining them in the parlour is Afro-Irish singer Tolu Makay, a new vocal talent emerging in Ireland and composer Síobhra Quinlan who uses music to help give voice to the new migrant communities, including refugees and asylum seekers living in Direction Provision. There are performances by all four guests in this show with Erin Fornoff sharing her spoken word piece ‘HOME’ while Tolu Makay performs her song ‘Goodbye’, and Declan O’Rourke sings his autobiographical song ‘Stars Over Kinvara’. Síobhra Quinlan is joined by concert harpist Maebh McKenna and they perform a contemporary classical piece Quinlan wrote called ‘Flux’. pantisocracy.ie/s4-e5/ for more

The Panti Monologues shape the Pantisocracy shows. In this episode Panti Bliss shares her story of running away to find herself and that yes, you quessed it, there's no place like home. Cue Dorothy. The Irish are all over the world, ‘the diaspora’ as Mary Robinson named it, and often creating waves where ever they go. In this episode of Pantisocracy host Panti Bliss is inviting folk who have a foot in two places like acclaimed sean nós singer Iarla Ó Lionáird, of the group The Gloaming, who spends his life now between Princeton University, in the United States and his home and family in Inistioge, County Kilkenny. With him is comedy writer (8 out of 10 Cats) and actor Brona C. Titley, who has settled in London and fellow London exile, cabaret artist Xnthony aka Anthony Keigher whose stage shows are both funny and queer like the one he calls ‘Sodom & Begorrah’. Joining them is social justice activist Caoimhe Butterly who grew up in Ireland, Canada and Africa and who, through her on-going work with refugees, is back and forth from Dublin to Lebanon and Greece. http://pantisocracy.ie/s4-e4/ for more

So we Irish are not known for our openness about sex and sexuality so in this season of Pantisocracy we’re bringing a little spotlight to sex and the Irish or everything you ever wanted to know about sex and the Irish but were afraid to ask! In this episode of Pantisocracy host Panti Bliss is talking birds & bees, sex education and how we learn about sex and sexuality, consent and coercion, desire and intimacy. As the child of a rural vet Panti got the basic biology lesson early on but everything else was a bit of a discovery. With her in the parlour is Taryn De Vere, who describes herself as a ‘joy-bringer’ and a ‘sex positive parent’ as well as sports commentator and psychotherapist Richie Sadlier, who co-runs consent classes with transition year schoolboys. Joining them is Shawna Scott who runs Sex Siopa, a female friendly online sex shop, and Dr. Paul Ryan, who researches sex and the Irish, from the pages of agony aunt Angela McNamara in the 60s and 70s to sex workers and digital dating today. Performing in the parlour are Maria Walsh and Carole Nelson from the music duo Zrazy who became national treasures themselves when they wrote the legend ‘Ooh Aah Paul McGrath’. A show that happily bring together drag, sex and sport. pantisocracy.ie/s4-e3/ for more zrazy.com for more about Zrazy and their music

The Pantisocracy Season 3 Episode 2 broadcasts July 23 2019. This is Panti Bliss opener to the show - The Panti Monologue In this episode of the ‘cabaret of conversations’ host Panti Bliss is joined by Belfast writer Wendy Erskine, author of an acclaimed new collection of stories from a fractured post ‘peace’ Northern Ireland and a young filmmaker Sinead O’Shea whose documentary ‘A Mother Brings her Son to Be Shot’ highlights some of those fractures in the underbelly of Derry suburbs . This episode, please note, was recorded before the tragic shooting of Lyra McKee in Derry by a dissident republican group. With them is Dean Van Nguyen, an emerging voice on Irish culture, whose father came to Ireland as a Vietnamese refugee in the 1970s and David Joyce, a lawyer and Irish traveller activist, whose father reluctantly ‘settled’ when David was in his late teens. Offering music and insight is the singer and performer Lux Alma whose new work takes a female focus on Irish mythology. http://pantisocracy.ie/s4-e2/ for more

From Pantisocracy S4 E1: The Writing on the Wall. You can read the text of the monologue here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19eLlVTpV2s1WTzwGh547ldzFYkK2VXeK0X2X0b0H2fw/edit?usp=sharing In this the first episode of Pantisocracy Season 4 host Panti Bliss is joined by two extraordinary visual artists, Joe Caslin and Maser, who both, in very different ways, use the street as their canvas and their art for social change. With them is documentary filmmaker Aoife Kelleher whose film ‘One Million Dubliners’ changed public minds and hearts about Glasnevin Cemetery and whose recent work takes us inside the Irish prison system. Singer Damien Dempsey, who worked with Maser ten years ago on a Ballymun urban art project , shares his own journey, and a song or two, while the young, spoken word artist Natalya O’Flaherty raps the street and gives life to its stories. Webpage for more: pantisocracy.ie/s4e1/

Pantisocracy Season 3 Episode 9 ‘Taking a Stand’ Broadcast 28th August 2018 22.00-23.00 RTE Radio 1 In the parlour with host Panti Bliss are Saoirse Long, Caitriona Bergin, Frank Berry and Lisa Hannigan. Sometimes, despite the personal cost, you have to take a stand. In this episode of Pantisocracy, our host Panti Bliss, who has herself been known to take a stand or two, shares her story of how what she thought was a small talk in the Abbey Theatre, the Noble Call, became a viral call of action and change. In this episode Panti’s guests are Saoirse Long, a young woman who told her own story to dramatic impact during the recent referendum campaign, Caitriona Bergin, whose brother’s death by suicide helped motivate her to radically change her life, filmmaker Frank Berry whose recent work ‘Michael Inside’ brought us into the harrowing world of juvenile detention and singer/writer Lisa Hannigan who performs two of her own songs in the show - ‘Little Bird’ and ‘Undertow’. www.pantisocracy.ie/s3-e9 for more

Pantisocracy Series 3 Episode 10 "Ties That Bind" Guests with Panti Bliss in this episode are the bands Ships, Tebi Rex, performer Felispeaks and singer Inni-K. Relationships, both family and friendship, are at the heart of the conversation in this episode of Pantisocracy and the ‘cabaret of conversations’. Panti Bliss talks of her own ties that bind and her guests include Sorca McGrath of the Choice Music Prize winning band Ships with her partner Simon Cullen, as well as Maynooth hip hop duo Max Zanga & Matt Ó Baoill, aka Tebi Rex. Joining them is the Nigerian-Irish spoken word artist Felispeaks, aka Felicia Olusanya, whose first play ‘The Boy Child’ is in this year’s Dublin Fringe Festival. Eclectic singer-songwriter Inni-K aka Eithne Ni Chatháin completes the guest list in a show focussed on contemporary Irish talent. www.pantisocracy.ie/s3-e10 for more No use of any content, audio video or text, without the written permission of the content creators Athena Media. Athena Media is an independent producer and Pantisocracy is broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 and available online as a podcast.

Pantisocracy Season 3 Episode 7 – 'Room At The Table' In this episode of the ‘cabaret of conversations’ called ‘Room at the Table’ host Panti Bliss’s guests are architect Grainne Hassett, singers Susie Q and Síomha, actor/writer Stephen Jones, and visual artist Vukasin Nedeljković. In this show Panti hosts a conversation around what makes a more open society. Vukasin Nedeljković shares his journey, from war in the Balkans to making a life here by turning his experience as an asylum seeker, in Direct Provision, into art in his Asylum Archive. Meditation coach Susie Q performs her song ‘Home’ inspired by images of children escaping conflict and architect Grainne Hassett talks of how similar stories of refugees fleeing war, prompted her to go and work in the refugee camps in Calais. Writer and actor Stephen Jones shares the story of his play From Eden and talks about making the film Dublin Oldschool with fellow Tallaght native Emmet Kirwan. Síomha, who comes from County Clare, the heartland of traditional Irish music, performs her songs ‘Spéir Rua an Iúil’, and ‘Why Did We Fall in Love?’ and explains why the Marriage Equality Referendum made her decision to move home from Canada all that bit easier. www.pantisocracy.ie/s3-e7 for more

Pantisocracy Season 3 Episode 5 ‘The Young are at the Gates’ Panti Bliss’s guests in this episode of Pantisocracy are the next generation; young emerging voices shaping Ireland today and pushing for change. In the parlour with Panti are actor/singer Fionnuala Gygax, Raidió na Life DJ Ola Majekodunmi, poet and visual artist Kerrie O’Brien, rapper JYellowL and transgender activist Sam Blanckensee. JYellowL performs his songs ‘Nuh fi hurt me’ and ‘Cold in The Summer’ while Kerrie performs her poem ‘Dublin’, (it’s now on the Junior Certificate), and Fionnuala shares a spoken word piece she wrote for International Women’s Day ‘The Girl in the Tree’.

Taken from Pantisocracy Season 3 Episode 4 ‘Finding Your Tribe’ Panti Bliss’s house guests for this episode of Pantisocracy, the cabaret of conversations, are singer Honor Heffernan and her partner, composer Trevor Knight, who perform songs from their show The Whistling Girl based on the writing of the American satirist Dorothy Parker. They are joined by comedian Katherine Lynch and Bohemian FC poet in residence Lewis Kenny. Lewis performs his darkly powerful poem Cabra. The Panti Monologue shares Panti’s own story on how she became Panti Bliss and how she found her tribe in the strangest of places - Japan. www.pantisocracy.ie

Pantisocracy Season 3 Episode 6 - ‘Legally Gay’ Twenty-five years after Ireland decriminalised homosexuality Panti Bliss celebrates in a show called Legally Gay and explores how Ireland stepped out of the closet. Guests include singer/songwriter Jack O’Rourke, gay rights archivist Tonie Walsh, HIV advocate Robbie Lawlor, grassroots activist Izzy Kamikaze and spoken word performer Vickey Curtis. This Episode Airs: 7th August 2018 22.00 – 23.00 on RTÉ Radio 1 http://pantisocracy.ie/season-3-2018-episode-6 for more

Host Panti Bliss (aka Rory O'Neill) shares her story of being HIV Positive and how she has become an ambassador for change for Irish Aid in Africa and Asia in this episode which is all about being the change you want to see in the world. "Sometimes you make life happen, and sometimes, life happens to you. Life happened to me, suddenly and unexpectedly, one Friday afternoon, twenty one years ago when my doctor told me I was HIV positive. And twenty one years ago, before the amazing advances in the treatment of HIV that have been made since, it didn’t so much feel like life had happened to me as life had dropped on top of me from a great height, or life had driven a freight train right over me. And for a time I felt battered and bruised by Life. Cruelly singled out and abused by Life. And when I could muster up the energy for it, i was pissed off with Life and it’s petty unfair cruelties. But anger can be exhausting and I’m too lazy for that, so over time I resigned myself to my new three-lettered life partner, and over the years, as treatments improved and we got used to each other, we found a way to rub along together quite comfortably. But though I was resigned to it, comfortable with it, accustomed to it, I didn’t see anything positive in being positive. Like being gay it was just something about me. Something I’d had to deal with, work out, assimilate, but once I had, it simply was. Neither pro nor con. Inert. But that turned out to be not quite true. I have been privileged to do some small work with Irish Aid, part of which has involved visiting HIV projects supported by Irish Aid in countries with very few resources. Not long ago I visited an HIV clinic for mothers and babies in Mozambique, on the outskirts of the capital city Maputo. Conditions were basic. A few small, simple, brick buildings, not much more than sheds really, clustered loosely around a large, dusty, unpaved central yard. And every inch was filled with women and babies. Hundreds of them. A line of mothers, shading their babies from the sun, stretched from each small building and snaked into the yard on sun-bleached benches and simple wooden stools, till the stools ran out and they stood or squatted. There was chatting and cooing over babies but it was quieter than you’d imagine. They’d been here since early morning, many had travelled long distances to get here, and they were stoically resigned to long hours of queuing. And the funny thing is, I didn’t need to ask what they were queuing for, because I recognised each line immediately. Of course I did! Sure hadn’t I’d spent many hours in the very same queues. This line is to see the doctor, this one is for bloods, this one is to get weighed and blood pressure, so this one must be vaccinations, because this one is for meds. At first glance this sun-baked clinic looked nothing like the clinic I go to in Dublin, with it’s tiles and lino and sliding hatches, and yet, it was also completely familiar, instantly recognisable. The same medications, same instruments, same questions. The same leaflets about viral loads and T cells and flu vaccinations, the same vocabulary, the same glossary of medical terms and drug companies and medications, the same pathologically cheerful posters about liver function and bone density and queue that way and please remember your hospital number. There was a young woman sitting on the ground beside me with a bright-eyed baby cradled in her lap. As she glanced up and caught my eye I couldn’t have even guessed what her life was like because I had no frame of reference to hang guesses on. And presumably she had no frame of reference for my life. But I knew this. I sat down beside her and said hello. We had lots to talk about (cont'd)

Pantisocracy host Panti Bliss shares her own dark memories of a boy's boarding school. ‘The Elephants in the Room’ S3E2 In this episode of Pantisocracy, the cabaret of conversations, host Panti Bliss meets writer Michael Harding, actor and singer Ruth McGill, aerial performer Ronan Brady, playwright Amy Conroy and poet Jessica Traynor in an episode called 'The Elephants in the Room'. Panti Bliss kicks off with a moving and dark memory of her time in boarding school while Ruth performs two of her own songs ‘The Good’ and ‘See You’ while Jessica Traynor performs her poem ‘The Artane Band’ and Amy Conroy shares a slice of her recent play ‘Luck Just Kissed You Hello’ www.pantisocracy.ie for more

In an emotional show recorded just after the historic vote in the abortion referendum on May 25th Singers Karan Casey and Ciara Sidine join host Panti Bliss is an episode entitled ‘Awesome Mná’ exploring the voice of women in Ireland; the stories they tell and the songs they sing. Casey, an outstanding traditional and folk singer, kicked off the gender equality in music initiative Fair Plé earlier this year while Ciara Sidine’s work includes a powerful song in tribute to the memory of the women and babies of the Magdalene laundries and mother and baby institutions. Samantha Long, a Magdalene adoptee, shares the story of her birth mother Margaret. Joining them is Maynooth sociologist Linda Connolly author of The Irish Women’s Movement and playwright/actor Eva O’Connor whose work includes the play Maz & Bricks exploring themes affecting young Irish women today. In the provocative and timely show Ciara Sidine performs her songs ‘Finest Flower’ and ‘Trouble Come Find Me’ while Karan Casey sings a favourite Janis Ian one ‘I’m Still Standing Here’ as well as a song she wrote during the referendum campaign ‘Sister I’m here for You’. www.pantisocracy.ie

'Begin Again' In a special New Year’s Day edition of Pantisocracy, the ‘cabaret of conversations’ hosted by Panti Bliss looks towards a new year with guests; singers Luka Bloom, Aoife Scott and Steve Wall, paralympian athlete Niamh McCarthy and Syrian human rights advocate Razan Ibraheem. http://pantisocracy.ie/season-2-episode-6 for more

PANTISOCRACY at CHRISTMAS: THE PANTI MONOLOGUE In a Christmas Day Pantisocracy host Panti Bliss explores the changing nature of tradition in her opening monologue. Go to www.pantisocracy.ie/season-2-episode-5 for more. ©AthenaMedia2017 no use without consent of producers "My sisters and I would write our letters with care. Tongue out in concentration, I would mark out each letter slowly and deliberately with seven-year-old gravitas, knowing that as soon as I had finished, my mother or father, with similar gravitas, would place the letter in the fireplace and coax the burning ash to float up the chimney and out into the dark Mayo night, where it would drift and float, till it reached the magical Mr Claus. My letter would begin and end with the expected polite greetings, enquiring after the health of Santy and his good wife, and passing on my best wishes to Rudolph, but both Santy and I knew that it was the list, sandwiched between these salutations, that was the real reason I was writing. It was a short list, just three or four items, in descending order of magnitude and importance. The last item, gently but firmly insisted on by my mother, was always the same. In case of supply chain problems or industrial action by the Elves, she’d make sure I wrote, “Or a surprise”. I suppose you could call it a ‘get out Claus” clause. But the first item on my list was also always the same. My Number One, my first preference. Every year, after checking the spelling, I would carefully write in all capitals at the top of the list, “A Gorilla Suit”. For some now-forgotten - but probably Tarzan based - reason, I had decided that only a gorilla suit would make my life Mayo life complete. Of course nowadays, with the internet and Amazon and the manufacturing power of a billion Chinese at his fingertips, no doubt Santy could deliver on my oddly specific hairy simian wish, but at the time, in 1970’s Mayo, with only a few French elves on a work-to-rule and the limited options available in a Galway toy shop, Santy would - my mother explained - do his very best but, just in case, I did put down “or a surprise” didn’t I? I did. But every year, as stubbornly as hopefully, I wrote “A Gorilla Suit” at the top of the list, and every year, my Christmases remained stubbornly and resolutely gorilla free. We put great store by Christmas. You can tell, because we say ‘we’re doing it smaller next year’ or ‘next year I’m going away’ but we never do, and we continue to food shop as if stocking a wartime bunker and argue over who cooked it who ate and who didn’t dish wash it. Whether we love it or hate it, we give it weight and meaning. And you can tell we give it weight and meaning because we love it or hate it. We fill it with memories, fattening its significance each year as we add more. Mementos of weather, and faces, and silly jumpers, and novelty gifts that had already broken before the Sound of Music came on. Like an old cinema reel we revisit our Christmases Past - of songs and gins and rows and slights, hugs and tears and cuddles and of course sherry trifles. Of kitchen disasters, and sibling rivalries. Of people who couldn’t make it this year, and yes, loved ones who won’t make it again. We put great store by Christmas. You can tell, because we argue over what it is and what it means and who gets to own it. Occasionally a Grinch will try to steal my Christmas. You see, while I love Christmas, I’m not a religious person. A fact that forces my poor mother to practice her own religion a little bit harder, as she intercedes on my heathen behalf. Piling defensive decades of the rosary between me and my final reckoning. My Christmas is secular. The very worst kind of Christmas I’m told. As if secular is interchangeable with trite or meaningless, shallow or pointless. But it’s my Christmas. And it’s been my Christmas for forty nine Christmases now.

Panti Bliss performs her monologue 'Life's Little Nudges' for Episode 4 of the second season of Pantisocracy. Pantisocracy, the cabaret of conversations, is back on air with a new Summer season of shows. Each show opens with a personal monologue by Ireland's Queen Panti Bliss and in this episode she explores how life's little nudges, people or events, can change us and our lives. In this episode, host Panti Bliss is joined by singer Julie Feeney, writer and author Shane Hegarty, former rock radio DJ Jenny Huston and writer Dermot Bolger.

Panti Bliss performs her monologue 'Alter Egos' for Episode 3 of the second season of Pantisocracy. Pantisocracy, the cabaret of conversations, is back on air with a new Summer season of shows. Each shows opens with a personal monologue by Ireland's Queen Panti Bliss and in this episode she tackles a theme close to her own heart - that of alter egos - and explores how they can enable you to find your own superhero and find your voice. In this episode, host Panti Bliss is joined byperformance artist Emmet Kirwan, the incoming producer of the Abbey Theatre Jen Coppinger, performer Duke Special and Cork musician Eoin French aka Talos.

Queen of Ireland Panti Bliss performs her monologue for Episode 2 Season 2 of Pantisocracy. This time she takes her theme from her own memoir 'Woman in the Making'. Pantisocracy, the cabaret of conversations, is back on air with a new Summer season of shows. Each shows opens with a personal monologue by Ireland's Queen Panti Bliss and in this episode she explores what it means to her to 'become' a woman and the thorny issue of gender in Ireland. Her guests in this episode are singers Eleanor McEvoy, Hazel O Connor and historian Sonja Tiernan.

Host Miss Panti Bliss opens each episode of Pantisocracy with the 'Panti Monologue', a personal observation on life as she sees it. Here is Panti's Monologue from Series 1 Episode 7 in full as Panti plays with the theme of Christmas and explores how Christmas is the ultimate 'outsider' festival. http://pantisocracy.ie/episode-7 for more The Panti Monologue : I like Christmas. I like being kind of forced to go back to Mayo and send a few days in the bosom of my family. I like my family. I love them of course, but I also actually like them. Which I’ve realised as I get older, makes me lucky. It’s comfortable to go home and slip back into my part in a big family. The people who’ve known me longest, and the ones who’ll still love me even if I do something to make them stop liking me. But I didn’t always like Christmas. Christmas used to make me feel my difference, my outsider-ness more acutely. Back in the 70’s, when times were different and most gay people left the small places they came from to find other people like them, the writer Amsted Maupin famously said, that gay people had two families: their biological families, and their logical families. The family they were given, and the one they chose and made for themselves out of people they could be themselves with, because their biological families weren’t always a comfortable place for them. And there was a time, when I was younger, that going home for Christmas made me uncomfortable. I’d have to hide myself again. Not so much from my family, but from my place. Christmas made me feel like an outsider. But times have changed. I’m not seen as so very different anymore. And I’ve changed. My difference, felt so keenly at Christmas, used to make me uncomfortable, outside, but as I grew older I grew to like my difference. To embrace it, Appreciate it. I sometimes wonder who I might have been had I been straight. What kind of person might I have turned out to be had I not been flaming? I suspect I might not like me very much. Perhaps that’s unfair on Straight Me, but there’s no doubt that all the conditions would have been there for Straight Me to be a jerk. Straight Me would have been dangerously comfortable in the world. Born into a nice middle class family, never spoiled but never without, smart enough (and encouraged enough) to do well in school and go to university, and afterwards a good job in a good company almost by birthright. Decent looking, healthy, good at football, with nothing to put me in the firing line of schoolyard taunts or adult discomfort - no disability, no speech impediment, no fatness, no buck teeth or gammy eye. I’d have had the right accent, the right qualifications, and the right genitals to be taken seriously by the world. I would speak and people would listen. I would be fully participant in the world because the world was built for me, by people like me. I would vote in elections because my opinion was important, and I would vote not to change things, but to keep them the same. Why wouldn’t I? The world would have been perfect already, and I perfectly comfortable in it. And Perfectly Comfortable Straight Me would have no ability - and maybe no inclination - to understand or empathise with people who weren’t so comfortable in a world that hadn’t been built for them. Yes, I know, I am being unfair on Straight Me because he would have been raised by the same decent parents, had the same Traveller neighbours, been taken on the same trips with Dad to the big grey home for the intellectually disabled, his pockets full of Milky Moos to share, but still… I can’t help but wonder if I’d have been a dick.

In this Panti monologue Panti shares her coming of age story around 'The Pope's Visit' and touches on the theme of what we believe in and what faith means to us. In this episode, her guests in her chamber are novelist John Boyne, (author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas), Amanullah De Sondy, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Islam University College Cork, Sligo based Illustrator Annie West, singer Hozier and the actor and singer Bronagh Gallagher. Bronagh offers a song to the cabaret with Bronagh performing ‘Hand on my Heart’ from her new album and Hozier sings his song ‘To Be Alone.’ Pantisocracy Monologue Episode 6 “The Pope’s Visit” I think sometimes when people look at me, this big painted ‘lady’, they find it hard to imagine that I came from anywhere. They imagine that I just appeared, fully formed, like the Good Witch Glinda from her bubble. But of course I am from somewhere. I’m from a small town in Mayo called Ballinrobe. Ballinrobe is your typical, Irish, country market town. It has a couple of streets, a church, a Town Hall and huge excitement when Tescos came to town. And even though it now has a Tescos, and a black family, it hasn’t really changed much since I was growing up there, a young boy called Rory, in the 1970’s. Growing up in Ballinrobe, the much loved son of the local vet and his well respected wife, surrounded by five noisy brothers and sisters, countless animals, it was an idyllic upbringing: easy, free, fun. There wasn’t a lot to rebel against to be honest. But... In 1979, I started to think for myself. That was the year the Pope came to Ireland, and when he did, there were no dissenting voices. Or if there were, I was too young to hear them. This was going to be the greatest thing that has ever happened to Ireland – the Pope himself, this huge holy celebrity, was coming to Ireland and nothing would be the same again. Everyone was on board - even I was on board. After all, I was already putting my latent drag tendencies to work as Ballinrobe’s pre-eminent altar (lady) boy. But even my enthusiasm, driven as it was really by the perceived glamour of the occasion, paled into insignificance beside my mother’s Papal devotion. For days beforehand, our house, like every other house in Ballinrobe, was a hive of activity and nervous excitement, my mother a sandwich making tweedy blur, and at the crack of dawn on the big day she piled the Volkswagen high with egg sandwiches, brown bread, flasks of tea, Pope stools, and giddy children and drove to the next town, Claremorris, where we parked in a field. We then boarded shuttle busses to the site at Knock and in the grey early morning light it was a sight to behold – hundreds of thousands of damp pilgrims muttering their bovine devotions, stretched out across fields, ironically vacated by their actual bovine residents for the glorious occasion. We set up camp, miles from the stage, among nodding nuns, stressed mothers, praying shop-keepers, and farmers drinking cold tea from TK lemonade bottles, as an interminable rosary was broadcast over the tannoy system. By the time the Pope arrived it already felt like we’d been at a mass for days on end, but now an actual mass did start, and it was longer and more boring than any mass I’d ever been to in my twelve years. But during the mass I looked around me – and I had an epiphany of sorts. I didn’t belong here. I didn’t feel any wonder, any joy. I felt afraid. There was nothing spiritual or divine about this event; this was a cult. A cult of personality and hype. A colony of drones; a multicellular organism made up of unicellular minds. A wilful refusal to see with their own eyes. A switching off of all critical faculties. And if I’d had the courage I would have stood up and screamed, “The Pope has no clothes!” I didn’t become an atheist that day – that would be a longer process – but I took the first step... and became a Protestant. When the mass ended, the excitement was palpable, because this was wh...

"When I was in primary school I was in the Ballinrobe school marching band. And I was good. My glockenspiel and I were as one, and only the coldest of hearts could remain unmoved by my lyrical flourishes and precision marching on A Nation Once Again. Sister Frances wasn’t supposed to have favourites in her band, but everyone knew i was her favourite. Our nemesis was the Claremorris marching band. Fifteen miles and light years away across the bog, their band was older and bigger than our’s, and although we would never admit it, their uniforms were nicer and fancier than ours too. (They also had a train station and a swimming pool and thought they were better than us, but everyone knew you could never get parking in Claremorris so they could feck off with their ideas above their train station) Claremorris was the bog standard by which Ballinrobe judged itself, so in a spirit of competition that would have touched the cold heart of the brand new British Prime Minister Thatcher, beating the fancy-costumed Claremorris band was our carrot, while Sr Frances’s stern displeasure was our stick. (Not mine of course. I was her favourite) So when we qualified for the All Ireland School’s Marching Band Finals in Killarney, it wasn’t the thought of lifting the trophy after a spectacular performance of Amhrain na bhFiann that spurred us on through hours of practice, but rather the thought of the Claremorris band’s crumpled faces as they stood (hopefully in the rain) and watched us lift it. Before they got the train home. I don’t remember now which saint Sr Frances had decided was concerned with the outcome of School’s Marching Band competitions rather than the sick and destitute, but whoever it was, we obviously prayed hard enough and often enough, because when we were clambering back onto our coach to return home from Killarney, Sister Frances proudly clutching the All Ireland School’s Marching Band Winner’s Trophy, everything was perfect with the world and train stations and swimming pools and fancy uniforms seemed but trivial things. When the coach stopped on the side of the road for a pee break not long into the long journey everything was still perfect with the world. And when Sr Frances took me and my two sisters aside and walked us a little away from the rest of the victorious peeing band, everything was still perfect with the world. And then she told us that Granny had died. Granny Hoban was a formidable woman who’d raised five kids on her own on a Guinness’s secretary’s wage. She used to just come and visit us on the train or we’d go to Dublin to visit her, but for the last while she’d been living in our back bedroom which hummed constantly with the sound of her ventilator. Sister Frances said she was up in heaven now, and I’d say God was already regretting letting cancer get her because she could be quite stern when she wasn’t pleased with you and I’d say she was giving him a proper bollocking. I knew what death was - after all we’d buried a whole cemetery worth of various pets in the garden - dogs, cats, budgies, hedgehogs, rabbits, sheep - but I never knew a person who died before. and I knew this was going to be a much bigger deal. We wouldn’t be burying Granny Hoban at the bottom of the garden. And while the bus bumped its way back to Ballinrobe and my sisters cried I cried too. I cried because I wouldn’t see Granny Hoban again, but I cried too because I wasn’t sure what not seeing Granny Hoban again would actually be like. But mostly I cried because I was sure Mammy would be crying and Mammy crying was a rare and awful thing. I dreaded arriving home. Sr Frances said there’d be a lot of people in the house when we got there and I imagined my Mammy coming to the door to meet us, crying ...

'AUNTY Qy' There’s a lot to be said for growing up in Ballinrobe County Mayo, But the one thing Mayo didn’t have was glamour. It had grass and cows and fish and football, but no glamour. Glamour was in short supply in 1970’s Ireland anyway and what little there was, rarely made it past the Shannon, and usually came from abroad. When Mrs. Nixon, the wife of the disgraced president, came to Ballinrobe in a helicopter and shook hands with people at the local agricultural show, the whole town nearly had a stroke. She was like something out of a “fillim”. But glamour came to our house once every few years in the shape of Aunty Qy, my mother’s glamorous younger sister. She even had a glamorous name; Columba, which everyone shortened to Q or Qy for some reason. Aunty Qy. She was gorgeous, and had this rich husky voice, redolent of Katherine Hepburn. She had wanted to be an actress, and did a bit on radio, but mostly, she was just beautiful. Seven different men proposed to her and in fact my mother met my father when he came to the house to take aunty Qy out. But aunty Qy said no to all her suitors until a wealthy American, an ex naval officer, proposed. He was twenty five years her senior, but he was dashing and exciting, and in grey 1950’s Ireland, he was in Technicolor, and he took her to America. In 1970’s Ireland, America still had a real glamour. It was a faraway exotic place we’d probably never see where Mary Tyler Moore and Charlie’s Angels lived with giant refrigerators and bouncing hair. Aunty Qy would arrive home with her husky drawl, in a swirl of beige pant suits and menthol cigarettes, (cigarettes, with mint in them!) and the glamour would almost knock me over. She’d smoke and drawl and sing ‘W-O-M-A- N, I’ll say it again!” and her bracelets would clank as she’d take out gifts wrapped like gifts in American movies with shiny wrapping and glittery bows, and inside we’d discover new and amazing things: Pez dispensers, magic tricks, a jumper with a hood on it! America had everything! We’d never seen the like! The whole town was talking about us and our jumpers with hoods on them. All the other kids wanted an aunty Qy. I wanted to be aunty Qy. She was like no one else I’d ever met. She was exotic and glamorous and different. She was like a character from a movie, a 3D emissary from a 2D world I’d only ever seen on screen or in books. But she was flesh and blood, undeniable, tangible evidence of a big world out there, somewhere past Roscommon. I feverishly imagined this other world and fevered to be part of it. This bigger, brighter world full of new and different things, exciting and full of possibilities - where people wore jumpers with hoods on them.